01
2192 Words
Chapter 01
“Why am I here?”
I looked around, finding myself in the middle of a funeral. I wondered who was dead and what I was doing there. I turned to the altar and saw a guy’s body lying on a bed, surrounded by flowers.
I slowly walked closer and freaked out when I saw it was me on the bed.
“What is this?”
I tried to touch my body, but my hand went right through it.
“Boss, we tracked them down. Our guys are bringing them here.”
I heard a voice and turned towards the entrance. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Ishaan. He was with some guys, all dressed in black.
“Ishaan! What’s going on?!” I yelled and ran towards him. I froze when I went right through him. I turned around and saw him walking towards my body.
I walked back, pissed off. I was trying to figure out what happened to me.
“Hael.”
I stopped when I saw Ishaan touch my cheek. His eyes were lifeless as usual, no expression at all. But when I looked at his hands, I saw they were shaking.
“Axelrod, are you really losing it? Hael is the reason Yexie died! Your only sister! Why did you have to go this far? You turned against the Axelrod family and kidnapped the entire Jasver clan!” the guy behind Ishaan yelled. He looked disgusted and angry.
“Yexie?” I whispered. My whole body went numb when I remembered the girl who was my first friend in showbiz.
I was warned about Reign so many times. He saved me a few times, and because of our stupid prank, it turned into a major accident.
“Ishaan’s… sister?” I asked, my voice trembling. I saw the guy, who I think was Ishaan’s best friend, start to cry. I didn’t know him that well because I didn’t really care about Ishaan.
“If I only knew that this is how the Axelrods would end up, that Yexie would die and you’d do this… I wish I had spoken up when Grandpa asked me about my opinion on your marriage to Hael. I was one of the ones who opposed it,” the guy said bitterly. He turned to leave, but before he could even reach the altar, I heard Ishaan speak.
“You know I wouldn’t have agreed to the arrangement if Hael I wasn’t going to marry ,” Ishaan whispered. I turned back to him. He was standing beside the bed, his arms resting on it.
“Ishaan! When will you wake up to reality? Hael will never love you, no matter what you do! Everything you did, all the sacrifices, supporting his career, even cutting ties with the Axelrods… it all meant nothing. He didn’t see what you did when he was alive, so how will he now that he’s gone? Enough, Axelrod. Stop this madness,” the guy said and walked out of the funeral hall. Wait… what? Why is this guy making it sound like it’s all my fault?
“Let me go! Who are you?!”
My eyes widened when I saw Reign and the Jasver family, including Kitty, my best friend.
“Ishaan! What are you going to do?”
I jumped off the altar and ran towards Reign. He was covered in cuts and bruises.
“A… Axelrod?”
I saw the fear in Reign’s eyes when he saw Ishaan, and the Jasvers were scared too.
“When… when did you come back? We thought you were dead!” Reign yelled. Ishaan was still facing away from them.
“Dead?” I whispered. Ishaan told his men to leave.
“Axelrod! What’s going on? Why did you bring us here?” Mr. Jasver asked. I saw Ishaan pull out a gun. I tried to grab his arm to stop him. He c****d the gun, causing the Jasvers to drop to their knees and beg.
“You thought I was dead, so you killed Hael?” Ishaan asked. I went cold when I heard that and looked at the Jasvers.
“What kind of crazy s**t are you saying, Ishaan?!” I yelled. Why would the Jasvers kill me?
“Axelrod! You’re wrong. We don’t know anything about the kidnapping or the fire at the factory!” Reign yelled. I was confused by all this crazy talk from Ishaan.
Kitty was crying, saying she didn’t want to die. She said she didn’t know anything about what happened.
“I can’t even count how many times I let the Jasvers get away in everything for Hael’s sake. Everything the Jasvers enjoy, their fame, their money, it all came from me. All I asked from you was to take care of Hael! What did you do?! Why did you kill him?!” Ishaan yelled. He was staring daggers at me and the Jasvers were behind me.
“No… No. Ishaan— you’re wrong. The Jasvers wouldn’t do that to me.”
Old man Jasver begged, saying they were blinded by money. He told Reign to get on his knees and beg Ishaan.
“Dad!” Reign yelled. I screamed when Ishaan shot old man Jasver in the stomach.
“Can your sorry ass save Hael’s life? Can you bring him back?!” Ishaan yelled. Kitty and Mrs. Jasver were crying. I was shocked when Ishaan grabbed a gallon of gasoline.
“What—”
“What are you doing?” Reign asked. Ishaan poured gasoline on them and the whole place. I only just noticed the gallons inside the funeral hall and I saw Ishaan pull out a lighter.
“Axelrod! Are you crazy?! Let us go! We’ll surrender to the police!” Reign yelled, begging for mercy. He couldn’t stand up because he was tied up, and I saw Kitty crawling away.
I saw Ishaan slowly walk towards the altar.
“Hael, I’m sorry. I didn’t protect you. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone there. I’ll follow you. I’ll bring them with me.”
Tears just started flowing. I ran towards the altar to stop Ishaan.
“Ishaan! Are you out of your mind?! What are you saying, you’ll follow me?”
I saw Ishaan climb onto the altar and give a bitter smile. He dropped the gun and stroked my cheek.
I saw Ishaan lie down and drop the lighter. The whole place burst into flames and then memories started flooding back to me, before I ended up in this place.
I heard Reign and Kitty laughing while I begged them not to kill me and the truth that Ishaan was the only reason the Jasvers were nice to me. They were using me and Kitty was pregnant. She was carrying Reign’s child and my relationship with Reign was all a big lie.
“Ishaan?”
I saw a single tear roll down Ishaan’s cheek.
“Get up, Ishaan! Leave! Ishaan!” I yelled, trying to touch him, but I went right through. I dropped to my knees and screamed.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Ishaan!” I cried. If I was given another chance, I would make things right with you, Ishaan! In our next life, I’ll use every second, every minute, every hour, every month, every year to make it up to you.
“Ishaan!” I cried, clutching my chest.
“Ishaan!”
I stopped when I saw myself in a familiar room. A guy was on top of me, kissing my neck. Out of instinct, I pushed him away and slapped him.
I froze when I saw Ishaan, like I hadn’t seen him in years. He touched the side of his lip, which had a cut from my slap.
Wait… wait, wasn’t I dreaming? Ishaan is right here? I immediately knelt down and touched his cheeks.
“You’re alive? I’m alive,” I said, scared. He held my hands tightly.
“What are you saying? What kind of drama is this, Hael?”
I gasped and pulled my hands back. It hurts… I felt pain and I was about to touch Ishaan. Is this the afterlife? No… I looked up and looked around.
All my senses came back when Ishaan pulled me back and kissed me roughly on the lips. I fell back on the bed—I was hurt, and we were bumping teeth because of his force.
“Ishaan Kavish Axelrod!” I yelled when I managed to push him away again. I screamed, terrified. I could taste my own blood on my lips.
“Why? Are you disgusted, Hael, because I’m not Jasver? We’re married, Hael, and you owe me a wedding night,” Ishaan said, his voice dark and his face full of disgust.
Wedding night? I stopped because of the idea that I went back to the past. I asked Ishaan how many years we’d been married.
“Shut up,” Ishaan said darkly and he choked me. He kissed me on the lips and forcefully started taking off my clothes.
This isn’t good if I really went back to the past. If Ishaan is this violent, I’m sure I’ll end up in the hospital tomorrow.
I pushed Ishaan again, but before he could react, I rolled him over and got on top of him.
“I’m hurting. Can you please slow down?” I whispered, doing my best to sound pitiful. I saw Ishaan stop.
“I’ll take off my clothes myself,” I said, trembling, and I started taking off the buttons on my sleeve.
I was on the last button when my fingers slipped because of the cold and fear. Why? Because after our first night together, Ishaan forced himself on me and it caused me psychological trauma.
After that, nothing happened between us, and I never gave myself to Reign.
I stopped when Ishaan grabbed one of my hands. I looked up… he pushed me away with disgust in his eyes.
“Nevermind, I’m not in the mood.”
I touched my cheek and noticed it was wet with tears. I was already crying.
“Wait, Ish… Ishaan.”
Ishaan got off the bed and picked up his glasses from the nightstand. I knelt down on the bed and grabbed his arm.
He looked at me briefly and pulled his arm away.
“Disgusting,” Ishaan whispered, full of disgust, and he turned to leave. He was about to walk away when I hugged him from behind and apologized.
I felt him stiffen. I hugged him tighter and told him I was scared.
“Don’t bother explaining, Hael. You don’t want to because I’m not Jasver, right?” Ishaan tried to pull my hand away, but I wouldn’t let go.
“No! It’s not like that! It’s my first time, okay? My first!” I yelled. At that time, it was my first time. I saw Ishaan stop when he heard that.
“You’re too strong, you’re angry and I’m hurting. I’m scared,” I whispered. I felt him release his grip on my arm and he didn’t say anything.
My stomach suddenly rumbled, so he looked at me. I awkwardly moved away and chuckled a little.
“I’m hungry.”
I was wowed as I sat at the long table and saw the three dishes Ishaan had prepared. I looked at Ishaan, who was taking off his apron.
“Thanks for the food!”
I immediately grabbed some cutlery and started to eat. I tasted it and stopped for a moment.
“This risotto… did you make it yourself?” I whispered. I felt Ishaan’s eyes on me.
All this time, I thought the Axelrod family’s personal chef was making my food. How did I not notice that every time Ishaan went on a business trip, the taste of the food they prepared for me changed, especially during breakfast and dinner.
“You have specific ingredients you don’t like in dishes, so I’ve been looking for alternative ingredients to use.”
I gripped the spoon tightly. I took the bowl and started eating quickly to hide the tears I felt coming.
What happened to the old me? Why didn’t I see what Ishaan was doing since we got married?
“Slow down. No one’s going to steal your food.”
I swallowed and put down the bowl when I finished it. All the food on the table was my favorite and besides my favorite dish, everything was perfectly suited to my taste buds.
When I finished everything on the table, I stood up and thanked Ishaan for the food.
After bowing, I walked out of the kitchen and went straight to the master bedroom.
I sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed my cheek hard.
“Ouch!”
I touched my cheek. It’s true—I’m back. Seven years before the incident at the factory and one year after Ishaan and I got married.
“I… I really came back?”
Tears welled up in my eyes and I hugged myself. I’m alive and I’m with Ishaan again.
- Writer
